192 EVERYDAY ADVENTURES 



over the bow or from port or starboard, but rarely 

 astern. 



The liquid musk itself is a clear, golden-yellow fluid 

 full of little bubbles of the devastating gas, and curi- 

 ously enough is almost identical in appearance with 

 the venom of the rattlesnake. As to its odor, it has 

 been described feelingly as a mixture of perfume- 

 musk, essence of garlic, burning sulphur, and sewer- 

 gas, raised to the thousandth power. Its effect is very 

 much like that produced by the fumes of ammonia, 

 another animal product, or the mustard-gas of mod- 

 ern warfare. It may cause blindness, convulsions, 

 and such constriction and congestion of the breath- 

 ing passages as even to bring about death. Some 

 individuals and animals, however, seem to be more or 

 less immune to the effects of this secretion. I remem- 

 ber once attending by invitation a possum hunt 

 conducted by a number of noted possumists of color. 

 We were accompanied by a bevy of miscellaneous 

 dogs. The possums were generally found wandering 

 here and there among the thickets, or located in low 

 persimmon trees. Every now and then one of the 

 dogs would bring to bay a strolling skunk. As the 

 skins had a considerable market value, these skunks 

 were regarded as the special prizes of the chase. The 

 hunters dispatched them by a quick blow across the 

 back which broke the spine. Such a blow paralyzed 

 the muscles and effectually prevented any further 

 artillery practice on the part of the skunk which 

 received it. Before it could be delivered, both the 

 hunter and the dog were usually exposed to an un- 



